Patent Literature 1: JP-A-2001-101592
For example, patent literature 1 discloses a vehicle control apparatus that detects a moving body by a camera, determines a possibility of a collision between a vehicle and the moving body, and performs a collision avoidance control when there may be a possibility that a collision occurs.
A vehicle control apparatus that detects an object by an approach sensor during a low speed traveling is disclosed. Herein, the object represents a moving body such as a vulnerable road user or the like. The vehicle control apparatus determines that the object approaches a vehicle and executes a vehicle control when the two or more approach sensors detect the object at the same time. The approach sensor is disposed to each of right and left sides of a vehicle front part. A reliability of an approach determination may be secured by setting a condition that it is determined that the object approaches the vehicle when the two or more approach sensors detect the object.
The applicants of the present application have found the following. The vehicle control apparatus may detect the vulnerable road user with one approach sensor before a collision occurs in a case where the vulnerable road user blocks a movement direction of a vehicle for a short time (e.g. a jump out, a suddenly crossing a road, a suddenly coming out from a blind spot). However, it may be less likely that two approach sensors detect the vulnerable road user before the collision in this case. Therefore, since the one approach sensor detects the vulnerable road user, it may be possible to awake an attention such as a warning. A vehicle control such as an automatic brake may not be executed. Thus, in some cases, it may be difficult to prevent a run-over accident of the vulnerable road user after the vulnerable road user collides with the vehicle.
It may be considered that the number of arrangement of the approach sensor is increased or a sensitivity of the approach sensor is increased. In this case, the vehicle control apparatus may excessively detect things other than the vulnerable road user. The vehicle control such as an excessive alarm, an automatic brake, or the like may be performed even when the vehicle is in a normal driving state irrespective of the jump out or the like. Therefore, the excessive control according to an excessive detection may prevent a comfortable vehicle travelling. In other words, it may not be precisely determined whether the vehicle control is executed or not.